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Becoming a Naval Fighter Pilot

O

outxoilgas

New Member
All, thank you for taking the time to read this and provide feedback.

I am a 25 year old field engineer in the oil & gas industry with a degree in petroleum engineering. I have been running my own crew in frac now for the past half year, working 14-15 hour shifts on a 15&6 rotation. A few of the hands, and one of the supervisors on my old crew served in the navy in various roles and have been trying to convince me to join the navy and become a fighter pilot. I grew up wanting to fly, and go to Air ForceI/naval academy to do so, but the dream slowly got away from me as I started to do stupid things like party, girls etc. My grandfather also served in the military as an officer, who later went into politics and I’ve always idolized his life and wanted to follow his foot steps.

What are the chances I could still join the Navy and get a pilot slot? Am I too old now? Do all the slots go to Academy/ROTC grads? I am 6’4, 240 (can easily shed 20+ lbs) so would I be too big to fit in a fighter jet? How often do people go into flight school and get stuck flying cargo planes/heavy planes instead? Could I change paths to some sort of ground warfare, join marines if that is the case, or switch to Air Force in an attempt to fly fighters there?

I was a high school all American and captain of the wrestling team, and I have extensive experience running multi-million dollar equipment in an extremely stressful, fast-paced environment that is the oil field. Recommendations also wouldn’t be an issue due to family connections.

I’m slowly starting to realize that I want to do more with my life then just build up the corporate ladder and chase a salary that would please me. I don’t want to look back at my younger days and regret not serving my country, but my time is running out.

I appreciate your time!
 
OscarMyers

OscarMyers

Well-Known Member
None
outxoilgas said:
All, thank you for taking the time to read this and provide feedback.

I am a 25 year old field engineer in the oil & gas industry with a degree in petroleum engineering. I have been running my own crew in frac now for the past half year, working 14-15 hour shifts on a 15&6 rotation. A few of the hands, and one of the supervisors on my old crew served in the navy in various roles and have been trying to convince me to join the navy and become a fighter pilot. I grew up wanting to fly, and go to Air ForceI/naval academy to do so, but the dream slowly got away from me as I started to do stupid things like party, girls etc. My grandfather also served in the military as an officer, who later went into politics and I’ve always idolized his life and wanted to follow his foot steps.

What are the chances I could still join the Navy and get a pilot slot? Am I too old now? Do all the slots go to Academy/ROTC grads? I am 6’4, 240 (can easily shed 20+ lbs) so would I be too big to fit in a fighter jet? How often do people go into flight school and get stuck flying cargo planes/heavy planes instead? Could I change paths to some sort of ground warfare, join marines if that is the case, or switch to Air Force in an attempt to fly fighters there?

I was a high school all American and captain of the wrestling team, and I have extensive experience running multi-million dollar equipment in an extremely stressful, fast-paced environment that is the oil field. Recommendations also wouldn’t be an issue due to family connections.

I’m slowly starting to realize that I want to do more with my life then just build up the corporate ladder and chase a salary that would please me. I don’t want to look back at my younger days and regret not serving my country, but my time is running out.

I appreciate your time!
Click to expand...
Hows that old Wayne Gretzky quote go... You miss 100% of the shots you don't take. You should ask yourself, do I want to be a Naval Aviator. If the answer is yes then what does it matter what your chances are. FWIW a buddy I work with is an NFO who used to run a crew in the the coal mines. If you're asking what are the chances then you probably never really wanted to do it and are just looking for a way to talk yourself out of it. Regarding the being stuck flying cargo comment, it might not be a sexy job, but the dudes flying heavys or CODs/Ospreys get to go to and live in some of the coolest places in the world while still doing awesome work. Every job has its pros and cons but at the end of the day you're still getting paid to fly and do cool shit.
 
taxi1

taxi1

Well-Known Member
pilot
outxoilgas, if I guaranteed you a pilot slot but you'd be flying something slow and pokey with no weapons forever, would you take it?
 
Sam I am

Sam I am

Average looking, not a farmer.
pilot
Contributor
You're not too old at all...I was 26 & married when I joined up. AND, like a lot of folks do, joined with a "Jets or bust" mentality. Don't wrapped around the axle about jets unless you like playing volleyball in your jeans. ?

Your path to promise land is OCS. There's a lot of info on the board about OCS. And your mentality is much like mine was: I didn't want to wake up one day at 50 and realize I never did a damn thing worthwhile, meaningful, or remarkable and thus spend your remaining years full of regret. (That's worse than dying.) The Navy (and other branches) can & will scratch that itch: you'll be doing really cool stuff, you'll be part of an organization that enables your life to be bigger than it might otherwise be, you'll meet great people, you'll do great things, you'll get paid okay, you'll get to live in some really awesome places (probably). There's going to be a lot of "suck" they don't put in the brochure and is totally worth it. Do it.
 
Sam I am

Sam I am

Average looking, not a farmer.
pilot
Contributor
taxi1 said:
outxoilgas, if I guaranteed you a pilot slot but you'd be flying something slow and pokey with no weapons forever, would you take it?
Click to expand...

Yup. I did that. It was still awesome.

EDIT: I guess I did have machine guns...they're cool, right?
 
mad dog

mad dog

the 🪨 🗒️ ✂️ champion
pilot
Contributor
OscarMyers said:
Hows that old Wayne Gretzky quote go...You miss 100% of the shots you don't take. You should ask yourself, do I want to be a Naval Aviator. If the answer is yes then what does it matter what your chances are...
Click to expand...

^^^

That.

??????
 
FormerRecruitingGuru

FormerRecruitingGuru

Making Recruiting Great Again
outxoilgas said:
What are the chances I could still join the Navy and get a pilot slot? Am I too old now? Do all the slots go to Academy/ROTC grads? I am 6’4, 240 (can easily shed 20+ lbs) so would I be too big to fit in a fighter jet? How often do people go into flight school and get stuck flying cargo planes/heavy planes instead? Could I change paths to some sort of ground warfare, join marines if that is the case, or switch to Air Force in an attempt to fly fighters there?
Click to expand...

Your chances are zero if you don't apply. No one here can give you statistics and there's a TON of factors that go into being selected for aviation and once in flight school... the ability to select jets.
 
Mos

Mos

Well-Known Member
None
outxoilgas said:
slowly starting to realize that I want to do more with my life then just build up the corporate ladder and chase a salary that would please me. I don’t want to look back at my younger days and regret not serving my country, but my time is running out.
Click to expand...
Let me offer a different view and just say that while I don't know what your day to day is like, I respect anyone that is providing a much needed resource to this country, especially if it's making this country more energy independent. And keep in mind that the military has its own corporate ladder.
 
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